Notebook: Astronaut Benefits From Wrestling

Notebook

January 10, 1999|By BILL RAY Daily Press

HAMPTON — There were several tournament firsts this year at the Virginia Duals. It was the first time the tournament was expanded to eight mats, and it was the largest field with 64 college and high school teams entered. Organizers added a division for small colleges to the three high school and national college divisions.

But perhaps the addition that best demonstrated the Duals' reputation as one of the premiere wrestling events in the country was the appearance of Dr. Joseph P. Allen . Before Saturday night's finals, the Duals added a march of champions with Allen, a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, as grand marshal. Allen was inducted into the hall of fame in 1998, also as an Outstanding American.

In 1967, Allen joined NASA and was on the astronaut support crew for Apollo 15 and 17. In 1982, he was a mission specialist on the first fully functional space shuttle mission, and he served in the same capacity on a 1984 shuttle mission. He has spent 314 hours in space and more than 3,000 hours piloting jet aircraft.

`One of the things that best prepared me for it was (wrestling),'' Allen said. ``It gives you confidence. All these kids have confidence and they know that even though they might not always win, they can come back tomorrow.''

In high school, Allen was a state qualifier at 122 pounds in 1954 and 1955. At DePauw University, he was on the 1959 team that finished 10-1. He earned a master's degree in physics from DePauw and a Ph.D. in physics from Yale.

Sen. John H. Chaffee of Rhode Island was also scheduled to appear as a grand marshal but could not attend on account of the presidential impeachment proceedings in Washington, according to Duals media relations director Frank Lipoli.

NATIONAL DUAL. For the past three years, Wrestling USA and Cliff/Keen have sponsored the Cliff/Keen Dream Team Dual. In the past, the meet has been held at Waterloo High in Iowa, the alma mater of Dan Gable , who's regarded as America's greatest all-time wrestler. As coach of the University of Iowa, he guided the Hawkeyes to 12 national team titles.

But this year, the event will be held in Hampton Roads, with the date and site tentatively set for Lake Taylor High in Norfolk, sometime in April.

Virginia was selected as the site based on the number of all-American wrestlers from the state.

``We are very excited about bringing the classic to Virginia,'' said Jim Keen , president of Cliff/Keen. ``The high number of nationally ranked wrestlers will make it a very exciting meet.''

Keen was in attendance at the Virginia Duals this weekend and participated in the final ceremonies. Also at the Duals were 10 nationally ranked wrestlers from Virginia, including Poquoson's Mike Akers and Victor Jackson , who are ranked No. 1 in the nation at 119 and 130 pounds, respectively. The Islanders' 160-pound state champion, Jacob Inge , is currently ranked 11th in the country at that weight class.

The all-stars from Virginia would be pitted against the rest of the nation's best wrestlers at the Cliff/Keen event.

SCHOOL TIES. North Carolina coach Bill Lam had plenty of catching up to do when his Tar Heels weren't wrestling at the Duals. Of the 15 other coaches in the national college division, four of them had wrestled under Lam.

Cornell, which beat the Tar Heels twice, is coached by Rob Koll . Cornell advanced to the semifinals before losing to Illinois. Other Lam proteges at the tournament were Carl Poff of Lock Haven, Mark Manning of Northern Iowa and Lenny Bernstein of Virginia.